‘AT THE STARTING LINE’
Former Civic Arena site plans get key approval from URA
The Pittsburgh Penguins scored a key victory Friday in their bid to build the first 288 housing units and a live music venue and parking garage at the former Civic Arena site. But don’t expect to see shovels in the ground anytime soon.
After nearly three hours of discussion, Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority board members gave preliminary approvals to the plans for the $82.3 million apartment development and the $127.5 million music venue and 850space parking garage.
In addition, the board advanced a plan to divert 75% of the parking tax revenue generated by the garage over 19 years — an estimated $24.3 million — to help pay for construction of the structure and the entertainment piece.
With the approvals, Kevin Acklin, the Penguins’ senior vice president, said the team “was at the
starting line” in the longawaited remake of the 28acre lower Hill District site. The Penguins hold the development rights to the land.
“We’re happy with the votes today. I think we’ve reached a point where we’ve now started a process. But we’re at the beginning,” Mr. Acklin said.
The URA board chairman, Sam Williamson, said a priority in redeveloping the property is to “heal some of the historic mistakes” made by the agency and others in tearing down part of the neighborhood and displacing thousands of residents in the 1950s to build the Civic Arena.
Plans for the housing and entertainment components still must get the green light from the Sports & Exhibition Authority, which owns portions of the site. The URA owns other parts, including the site for the first residential component.
City Council also must weigh in on the parking tax diversion. And the city, county and Pittsburgh school district must approve changes to a tax abatement plan advanced by URA board Friday.
The apartment and entertainment plans also must go before a Hill District development review panel as part of a community process.
Given all of that, the earliest any construction likely will start is late spring or early summer, Mr. Acklin said. At one point, the Penguins were talking about starting this fall or the first quarter of 2020.
Nonetheless, given all the delays the proposed $1 billion redevelopment has encountered over the last five years, Mr. Acklin seemed to be thrilled to be at this point. “This is the furthest we’ve been,” he said.
Friday’s approvals came despite continuing concerns by some Hill community groups and residents about the need for more transparency and accountability in the development.
The Hill Community Development Corp. also pushed for a number of changes, including proposals to increase levels of affordable housing on the site; give the neighborhood rather than the URA control over 1,200 square feet of retail space to be set aside for minority and Hill businesses as part of the garage project; and ensure that the music venue doesn’t conflict with the redevelopment of the historic New Granada Theater in the Hill.
While board members did not make the CDC’s recommendations conditions of their approvals Friday, they vowed that the URA would try to make most happen.
“We’re looking forward to moving swiftly in the next 30 days with the URA, the city and the housing authority to make sure that the community commitments as outlined in the letter are implemented,” said Marimba Milliones, Hill CDC president and CEO.
As part of the latest deal to get development rolling on the arena site, the Penguins have been talking to banks about advancing an estimated $40 million in loans that could be used immediately for projects in other parts of the Hill.
That money would be repaid through a portion of the tax revenue generated at the site over the next 10 years.
In an amendment approved Friday, the rest of the abatement, also estimated at $40 million, would go directly to the team to be used for site improvements rather than into a separate fund for that purpose.
In exchange, the Penguins have pledged not to seek more local funding for the site, although that would not prevent them from going after state or federal funds.
Ms. Milliones said it was “absolutely a risk” to allow the team to control where the money would go. But Mr. Acklin said the Penguins would have to show how the funds are spent in each project they bring URA for approval.
Beyond the pledge to advance the $40 million, the team also has committed to relocating the city Rescue 2 EMS station from the Boulevard of the Allies to the parking garage site and to providing the retail space to the URA for $1 annually for 29 years to be used by minority- and Hill-owned businesses.
A key change in the term sheet approved Friday requires the Penguins, if they obtain project-based vouchers from the city Housing Authority, to designate 20% of the apartments in the first phase — 58 in all — to households earning 50% or less of the area median income.
A $1 million loan the URA board authorized Friday for the housing is conditioned on Intergen, the Penguins’ housing developer, securing those vouchers.
The team also has agreed to make improvements to the Ammon Rec Center in the Hill and to finish the Curtain Call public art project that was supposed to be part of PPG Paints Arena construction.
In all, the URA estimated the public investment in the projects at $80.65 million, including $40 million in tax abatements, and the direct public benefit at $97.8 million, also with abatements.
The 288 apartments to be built near Crawford Square would be spread over two buildings, one six stories tall and one 12. The 97,000square-foot music venue, with room for about 6,400 people, would have indoor and outdoor sections. to the